Video of former MLB player Ryan Minor playing basketball at the University of Oklahoma has surfaced in the wake of his untimely death at age 49.
Minor is most known for his time with the Baltimore Orioles – and when he replaced Cal Ripken Jr. to end his consecutive-games streak.
In addition to his expertise on the diamond, he also was a phenomenal basketball player with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Highlights from the first game of Minor’s senior year in the 1995-96 season surfaced after his passing was announced.
In that game against Jackson State, Minor put up 18 points and five assists to lead the Sooners to a 99-68 victory.
Video of Ryan Minor playing basketball at Oklahoma surfaced after his death at age 49
After getting drafted into the NBA, Minor was cut and the pursued a career playing baseball
Minor led the team in points that season with 21.3 a game as OU went 17-13 under coach Kelvin Sampson (now leading Houston).
Oklahoma earned a ten-seed in that year’s NCAA tournament – where they fell in the first round to seven-seed Temple 61-43.
Minor’s talents were noticed and he was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 32nd overall pick.
After playing seven preseason games, Minor was released from the Sixers and played 32 games for the Oklahoma City Cavalry in the Continental Basketball Association.
Minor left the team in January of 1997 when he received a spring training invite by the Orioles – who had picked him in the 33rd round of the 1996 MLB Draft.
He spent two seasons in the minors before making his MLB debut on September 13, 1998.
Just seven days later, Minor became the first person to start ahead of Cal Ripken Jr. – ending his consecutive games streak of 2,632 contests in a row.
Minor would play nine games for Baltimore that season and returned to the Orioles the following season.
Minor replaced Cal Ripken at the end of his record-setting consecutive games streak in 1998
Across his entire major league career, Minor played in 142 games and had a career batting average of .177.
His longest stint was a 55 game stretch with the Montreal Expos in 2001 – where he managed 15 hits in 107 plate appearances including two doubles and two home runs as well as 13 RBI for a .158 batting average.
In October of 2022, Minor was diagnosed with colon cancer. He entered hospice care in November 2023 before passing away on December 22.
Before his passing, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame named Minor as an inductee with their 2024 class.